INTER-VILLAGE LAND DISPUTE: CrPc clamped as tension lingers

UKHRUL: The district magistrates of both Tengnoupal and Thoubal in Manipur reportedly promulgated the prohibitory order 144 CrPc in their respective jurisdictions of the tension gripped border region of Tengnoupal district’s Ringpam village and Thoubal district’s Salungpham Khunou on Saturday. 

The development came a day after the two neighbouring villages engaged in a violent clash over a land dispute that left several persons from both sides injured on Friday. The violent situation was brought under control after arrival of a Thoubal police team. However, tension had continued to grip the region ever since pending settlement of the dispute.

Reliable sources said that the prohibitory order was clamped after a joint meeting involving the two villages convened by IGP(Z 1) K Jayanta at Thoubal SP office on Saturday, to bring peace between the two sides, failed to resolve the matter.

Accordingly, another round of joint meeting has been scheduled for 31 August at 1:30 pm at Thoubal SP office, sources disclosed, adding that security forces have been deployed at the region following promulgation of the prohibitory order on Saturday evening.

The joint meeting was attended by village chiefs of Tollen and Ringpam and pradhan of Salungpham among others.

Meanwhile, reacting to news reports carried in some sections of the local media that the locals of Ringpam considered, had presented them in a bad light, the villagers asserted that they were not the one who provoked violence as reported in the media.

“It was the other way round and some of the media reports were misleading and biased,” one of the villagers, told Ukhrul Times over the phone.

The villagers said that as agreed upon by some neighbouring villages of the area, a joint meeting was scheduled to take place on 29 August to discuss about a long-standing dispute between Ringpam and Salungpham Khunou villages over a land located between the two villages.

On Friday evening around 4 pm, some persons from Salungpham Khunou suddenly arrived at the entrance of Ringpam village which was sealed by the villagers as a precautionary measure and entry of outsiders was barred to prevent spread of Coronavirus in the village, they said, adding that even exit and entry of the locals themselves were strictly monitored for fear of the pandemic.

“Those persons said they had come to deliver an invitation to the headman and asked entry into the village. To that, a VA member who were with the locals who guarded the entrance, asked if the invitation could be left with him so that he would hand it over to the headman later. But they insisted on entering the village and meeting the headman themselves citing some matters to discuss personally with him,” the villagers continued.

“So we tried to call out our headman to the entrance but he was not home at that moment. When we conveyed them about unavailability of our headman, they got agitated and left the spot,” they related.

“But a few moments later, those persons came back along other locals from their village numbering over hundred, welding knives and stones. Some of them even behaved in a drunk manner and started shouting and destroying the barricades put up by the locals,” the villagers recounted.

The villagers of Salungpham even threatened to stop movement of the locals by putting bamboos across the village approach road. They said that even as the elders of the village tried to explain their situation and resolve the matter, the intruders resorted to stone pelting causing injuries to some of the local people.

The villagers said that they were overpowered by the huge number of Salungpham Khunou village and left with little option for their safety, the locals shot several rounds of fires in the air from a Kartoos rifle only to disperse their attackers.

Two persons namely S Yaruingam, 20, s/o S. Hopeson, and S. Mahaichung, 17, s/o S. Rejoy were badly injured on their face and head after raining stones hit them and were rushed to Imphal for treatment, they said, adding many others also suffered minor injuries during the clash.

The injured were reportedly discharged from hospital and are out of danger but were yet to reach home till the time of filing this report.